The time has come, once again. That's right, it's another Sonic Retro Halloween! Each year so far we've made things more and more interactive, from the jump scares of '12 to the ghostly goings on of last year, so we decided to go all out this time. (How the hell will we top this next year..)

As most of you have probably already discovered - as it starts immediately upon login for the first time - it's time to go Emerald Hunting. A unique set each hunt, you have to find 3 emeralds hidden in three posts somewhere in these forums.

No two emerald hunts will be the same (within reason, random number generators and the total posts on the forum and all), and you will always have them in posts you have access to. Those who have access to more forums obviously have more possibilities for locations, but the radar, helpful as always, will guide you to your treasure once you work out its quirks.

If it did not start straight away, or if you have finish and want to go hunting again for a whole new set of emeralds, just click on the changed forum logo in the top left. (No more Shreggman, I promise.)

If you browse away from the page and then come back you'll be on the regular forum all the same. Returning to the hunt by clicking on the forum logo will let you continue where you left off, but the timer will still have counted your time away as part of the hunt itself, so be careful. Once you have completed your hunt, you'll be returned to the normal forums again, sans hunting shenanigans.

Of course, to make things accurate, this would not be complete without getting both a Rank and an Emblem for all your hard work at the end of the day. Under each person's usual user info on posts is a new emblem count, along with the option to view all their emblem ranks as well. Ranks go from SA through to F, although F ranks won't get you an emblem at all. Ranks (and time bonuses, there's a score too!) are decided based on how quick you find your emeralds in total, so be quick about it for the best ranks!

If you are in the middle of your hunt and you want to give up, you can also click on the forum logo to exit out. Do note that accepting the confirmation popup will automatically mark that hunt as an F rank.

It's been fun working on this one, getting it working, watching it break and having a few chuckles along the way. Any bugs that you find, please report them in here, so that it can be fixed as soon as possible.

Sadly, it will not work for everyone. Those who are just guests and not logged in won't be able to experience the hunt, nor those who are in any of the Pending groups. Misfits are obvious.

That happens. It may be hidden in one of the subforums. I'm sure Marc managed to catch all of them though. I remember bringing it up to him when I found one buried in the myriad of forums in the archives.